1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to user communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to computer-mediated user communication.
2. Background Art
The rapid growth in the use of computers to mediate virtual interactions amongst users is beginning to redefine the social importance of these systems. Once regarded as isolating, albeit useful, information management and commercial tools, computers are increasingly valued as gateways to virtual socialization venues. The popularity of websites such as MySpace and Facebook demonstrate the growing relevance of Internet-based virtual communities, for example, as alternatives for social networking. As those popular Internet resources show, changes in the demographics of computer users to include a younger, more diverse population comfortable with technology, has led to computer-mediated virtual communities becoming true alternatives to real world communities for young people seeking to form casual social relationships.
The proliferation of socialization opportunities arising from the use of computers to access virtual communities has many potential benefits. Among those may be counted the benefits to young computer users from the broadening and tolerance engendering exposure to socialization partners of different ethnicities, as well as to socialization partners residing in geographically far removed locations, or those living under very different economic or political conditions. There can also be unpleasant or undesirable consequences resulting from socialization in a virtual forum, however, due in part to the remoteness of the interaction. Distance, as well as perhaps divergence in social mores, may lead to misunderstanding, insult, or simply uncivil expression of ideas. Unfortunately, those consequences are especially undesirable for the young and perhaps socially inexperienced computer users most likely to utilize virtual social venues.
A conventional approach to controlling communications in a virtual community has been to utilize language filters to identify and redact disallowed words. Conventionally, if a message contains words identified as offensive or unacceptable, its content is altered either by deletion of the inappropriate words, or their replacement by ellipses or other placeholders. While perhaps effective in imposing a crude level of censorship on communications exchanged in a virtual community, conventional approaches makes little or no attempt to improve the overall quality of discourse occurring there. This deficiency in conventional approaches to controlling communications in a virtual community is particularly unfortunate, because it causes an opportunity to educate younger users about good communication protocol to be missed. Moreover, because many of those same young users consider virtual socialization to be qualitatively indistinguishable from real world social interaction, failing to foster positive communication habits in the virtual realm also misses the socially useful opportunity to encourage civility in other aspects of the lives of young computer users.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a solution for managing communication amongst users of a virtual community that protects those users from inappropriate communications while also shaping and elevating the level of discourse occurring there.